System for dehydrating and cooling a produced gas to remove natural gas liquids and waste liquids

ABSTRACT

Produced natural gas containing carbon dioxide is dehydrated and chilled to liquefy the carbon dioxide and then fractionated to produce a waste stream of liquid carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide. Natural gas liquids may be first separated and removed before fractionation. After fractionation, the waste stream is pressurized and transmitted to a remote injection well for injection either for disposal of the waste stream and preferably to urge hydrocarbons toward the producing well. A hydrocarbon stream proceeds from fractionation to a methanol absorber system which removes carbon dioxide gas. The hydrocarbon stream is thereafter separated into at least hydrocarbon gas, nitrogen and helium. Some of the nitrogen is reintroduced into a fractionation tower to enhance the recovery of hydrocarbons. A methanol recovery system is provided to recover and reuse the methanol. The hydrocarbons are sold as natural gas and the helium is recovered and sold. Excess nitrogen is vented.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This divisional application claims the benefit of and priority from U.S.patent application Ser. No. 11/674,083 with a filing date of Feb. 12,2007, which is hereby incorporated in its entirety and for all purposesby this reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field

This invention relates to the processing of produced gases from aproducing well and more particularly to processing the produced gases toconcentrate the hydrocarbon gas and to separate hydrocarbon gas, otheruseable gases or liquids, certain unusable gases including waste gases,and to place the waste gases in a suitable form for injection into aninjection well separate from the producing well.

2. The Relevant Technology

Natural gas is widely used today for home heating and cooking. As usedherein, the term “natural gas” means a variety of hydrocarbon gases thatare produced from a well (i.e., a producing gas well) drilled or boredinto the ground or earth. Produced gas is extracted from the producingwell and may be processed at the wellhead to remove certaincontaminants. Thereafter, it is sent by pipeline to a gas processingfacility. The produced gas being delivered is a mixture of gases and,depending on the produced gas obtained, possibly some natural gasliquids (NGL) that are separated for use as a separate source ofhydrocarbon products. The produced gas after removal of NGL may includein various proportions or quantities of one or more of methane (CH₄) andother hydrocarbon gases such as ethane (C₂H₆) and propane (C₃H₈), aswell as carbon dioxide (CO₂), nitrogen (N₂), helium (He), hydrogensulfide (H₂S), other gases, and water. The produced gas may also includesmaller amounts of other materials such as particulates and liquidsentrained in the gas. The mixtures vary typically based on the well, thegeologic formation from which the well is producing, and the geographicarea where the well is located (i.e., the “field”).

The gas processing facility receives a stream of produced gas from anyone of several sources of produced gas including one or more pipelineswhich may be connected to receive gas from one or more producing wellsowned or controlled by different parties or from one or more storagestructures. The gas processing facility operates to separate useablegases from the unusable gases, and to remove natural gas liquids, ifany. The usable gases include the desired hydrocarbon gases likemethane, which are concentrated and separated from the unusable gaseslike carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide. The desired hydrocarbon gasesare then separated from other gases and directed to a suitable pipelinefor delivery to users. Also, some other gases in the produced gas mayhave commercial value such as, for example, helium, and those areseparated and recovered for sale. The unusable gases are disposed insome cases by venting or flaring.

In some applications, carbon dioxide and nitrogen have been separatedfrom the produced gas and sold for commercial use. Economic conditionsand other factors, however, are such that carbon dioxide and nitrogenare being vented to the atmosphere and not recovered.

A variety of processes have been developed for processing streams ofgases including produced gas. For example, processes are available fordrying gas, for removing contaminants, for separating the differentgases in a stream, for concentrating certain gases and for gas effluentcleanup. A number of available processes are summarized in HYDROCARBONPROCESSING, May 2002 (Gulf Publishing Co.), (Gas Processes 2002 at pages63-122). Suitable processes for treating streams of produced gases aredescribed at pages 80 and 81.

Venting hydrogen sulfide gas into the atmosphere is not desired becauseit has an unpleasant scent or odor. Venting carbon dioxide may be deemedto be ecologically unsuitable or undesirable particularly in thequantities that may be involved in the processing of produced gas from aproducing well.

Disposing of the carbon dioxide gas into an injection well is arecognized practice. Using the carbon dioxide gas to stimulateproduction from producing wells is also known. But processes to rapidlyremove and dispose of unusable gases like carbon dioxide and hydrogensulfide are not known. Rapid and ecologically acceptable disposal ofwaste gases including carbon dioxide separated from a produced gas in amanner to enhance producing well production are also not knownparticularly.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Produced gas is first obtained from any suitable source such as aproducing well, a pipeline, or a storage structure. The produced gas isconverted or processed into a useful hydrocarbon gas by processing theproduced gas to separate the hydrocarbon gas from at least one waste gasproduced with the hydrocarbon gas. A waste gas or waste material is anygas or material that is in the produced gas and desirably not releasedto the atmosphere and of the type that is preferably disposed of in anecologically acceptable manner. The hydrocarbon gas is supplied as theoutput of the process while the recovered waste gas is supplied to aninjection well as a liquid for disposal. The injection well ispreferably spaced from the producing well. An injection well may bedrilled to receive the waste gas as a liquid. or it may be a wellconverted from other uses to receive the waste gas as a liquid.Preferably, the waste gas, such as carbon dioxide, is inserted now inliquid form into the injection well and delivered to a suitableformation, and to a desired stratum in that formation, for disposal.

A preferred process for converting the produced gas into a usefulhydrocarbon stream includes first dehydrating the produced gas to theextent it contains water in some form. In a more preferred process, thedehydrated produced gas is cooled next in sequence followingdehydration. The cooled and dehydrated produced gas is then processedinto a first stream containing desired hydrocarbons and a second streamcontaining waste gases in liquid form. The process preferably includesfractionation of the dehydrated and cooled produced gas into the firststream and the second stream which is effected next in sequence aftercooling. In more preferred applications, the produced gas is cooled to atemperature in which at least some of the waste gas such as carbondioxide is in liquid form.

The produced gas includes a hydrocarbon gas such as methane. Theproduced gas also may include a plurality of other gases such asnitrogen and waste gases such as carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide.

In preferred processes, the produced gas is separated and preferablyfractionated into a first stream and a second stream. The first streamincludes the hydrocarbon gas such as methane together with helium,nitrogen and some of carbon dioxide as a gas. The second stream includeswaste gases such as carbon dioxide as a liquid. The second stream mayalso include other waste gases such as hydrogen sulfide also not inliquid form.

In preferred processes, the first stream is further processed to removethe carbon dioxide gas. The carbon dioxide gas recovered from the firststream is then returned and incorporated with the produced gas beingfractionated so that it may be incorporated into the second stream. Thefirst stream, upon removal of the carbon dioxide, is thereafter furtherprocessed and preferably fractionated into outputs of hydrocarbon gas,helium, methane and nitrogen.

In more preferred systems, the first stream is processed through amethanol absorber in which the methanol absorbs the carbon dioxide. Themethanol with absorbed carbon dioxide is thereafter processed toseparate the carbon dioxide and methanol. The carbon dioxide is returnedfor incorporation with the produced stream for further fractionation andincorporation into a stream of waste gas. The methanol is recovered andreused.

In alternate processes, the produced gas is supplied to an inlet systemto effect dehydration. The dehydrated produced gas is thereaftersupplied to a heat exchanger to cool the produced gas promptly afterdehydration. Separation of the dehydrated cooled gas is thereaftereffected promptly, preferably by fractionation, to extract any hydrogensulfide and carbon dioxide for injection into an injection well as aliquid rather than a gas.

After separation, the hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide liquid arepressurized for transmission to the injection well and for injection.The injection well is located preferably away from the producing well adistance such as, for example, one mile to three miles. The distance,however, may vary from less than one mile to several miles. Theinjection well is configured so that the second stream is inserted at astratum or strata selected to receive and retain the second stream. Itshould be understood that it may be introduced into several stratums andinto several strata at one time. In preferred arrangements, the secondstream will be inserted into an injection well in a field and at astratum or in strata to act as a force to urge hydrocarbons to move awayfrom the injection well. Assuming there is at least one producing wellnearby, it is believed that some recoverable hydrocarbons will be urgedtoward the producing well. In a field with multiple producing wellspositioned about the injection well, the second stream urgeshydrocarbons toward multiple wells in the field.

In more desired processes and systems, a methanol system is used toremove carbon dioxide entrained in the first stream after fractionation.A separate methanol recovery system is used to recover and reuse therecovered methanol.

In alternate processes and systems, the produced gas is processed in afractionating tower which operates to supply a stream with hydrocarbonsat a first outlet at the top of the fractionating tower. The tower has atop and a bottom and is most preferably configured to receive a streamof nitrogen proximate to the bottom to enhance the recovery of methaneat the top of the tower.

In preferred processes and systems, heat exchanger means is used toreceive the produced gas and cool it and to effect heat transfer to andfrom other streams in the process. In some systems and processes, theproduced gas is cooled to a temperature in which some gases like carbondioxide are in liquid or substantially in liquid form. An inlet systemis preferably provided to dehydrate the produced gas before cooling.

After dehydration and cooling, the produced gas is preferably suppliedto processing means that desirably includes a fractionation toweroperable to separate the cooled and dehydrated produced gas receivedfrom the heat exchanger into a stream containing hydrocarbons and astream containing waste gas. The processing means also preferablyincludes a separator system which is operable to separate carbon dioxidefrom the stream with recoverable hydrocarbons. The separator system ismost preferably a methanol absorber connected to receive the stream withthe hydrocarbons. The methanol absorbs the carbon dioxide in the streamcontaining hydrocarbons. The methanol with carbon dioxide is thenpreferably supplied to a methanol recovery system which is operable toseparate said carbon dioxide stream into carbon dioxide and methanol.The carbon dioxide is then preferably returned for incorporation withthe produced gas and the methanol is reused.

In preferred processes and systems, the stream with the hydrocarbons isalso connected to a nitrogen rejection unit which separates nitrogen andhelium from the hydrocarbons in the stream. The hydrocarbons aredirected to an outlet for further connection to pipelines fordistribution to customers. The helium and the nitrogen are supplied toseparating systems to recover the helium as a commercial product and toseparate nitrogen which may be sold commercially or it may be vented orit may be returned to and inserted into the fractionating tower toenhance methane recovery.

These and other features and functions of the present inventions willbecome more fully apparent from the following description and theappended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To further clarify the above and other advantages and features of thepresent invention, a more particular description of the invention willbe rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof which areillustrated in the appended drawings. It is appreciated that thesedrawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and aretherefore not to be considered limiting of its scope. The invention willbe described and explained with additional specificity and detailthrough the use of the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a system for processing gas froma producing well into a separate gas stream and for injecting the wastegas as a liquid into an injection well optionally proximate a producingwell;

FIG. 2 is a partial more detailed system diagram of portions of thesystem of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partial system diagram of the systems to separatehydrocarbons from other gases of the system of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a partial diagram of a system to separate helium and nitrogenof the system of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

“Natural gas” means a gas that includes useable hydrocarbons likemethane. It is recoverable from one or more ground wells or producingwells in a field the dimensions of which vary but which often involvemany square miles of surface. The producing wells are positioned over ageological formation that contains the desired hydrocarbons. In fieldsof multiple wells, the producing wells are drilled into the gasproducing underground geological formations and are spaced apart. Uponextraction at the wellhead, the produced gas is typically contaminatedwith water and water vapor along with some entrained particulates andeven other fluids. In some cases, wellhead equipment removes entrainedliquids and particulates. For example, filters and cyclone separatorsmay be used proximate the wellhead to remove particulates and water fromthe produced gas and supply a relatively clean stream of produced gas toa suitable pipeline for delivery to a gas processing facility. Theproduced gas from several wells may be supplied to the gas processingfacility in one or more pipelines. In addition, the produced gas may betemporarily stored in a suitable storage structure before delivery tothe gas processing facility. The gas processing facility receivesproduced gas from what may be regarded as a suitable source. Theproduced gas may include, in addition to the desired hydrocarbon gas,large quantities of carbon dioxide, some hydrogen sulfide, notablequantities of nitrogen, some NGL, and some helium. The NGL, if present,are removed before processing the produced gas. The exact mix orcombination of gases that constitute the produced gas varies from wellto well and from field to field and also over time. The hydrocarbons aretypically regarded as usable gas. Other gases like helium may also berecovered and thus may be regarded as or deemed to be a usable gas.Other gases like nitrogen and carbon dioxide for this application arenot usable. Some unusable gases such as carbon dioxide and hydrogensulfide that may be regarded as pollutants are referred to herein as“waste gas.”

After any processing at the wellhead, the produced gas is supplied to agas processing facility which is typically constructed reasonablyproximate to a field yielding the produced gas. The gas processingfacility is assembled to first remove any NGL and then separate theproduced gas into suitable streams of useful hydrocarbon or natural gasand useful streams of other commercially viable gases. Other gases oflittle or no commercial value are vented or flared. For example, today,nitrogen may be sellable or it may be vented when the cost of transportwould make it too expensive. Similarly, carbon dioxide has beenrecovered and sold for commercial use. However the economic value ofcarbon dioxide has changed so it is now in many cases vented to theatmosphere. However the amount vented is quite significant. For example,a gas processing facility of modest size may today vent tons of carbondioxide every day.

FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of a gas processing system 10 inwhich the hydrocarbon yield from a producing well 12 is maximized whileventing no gases to the atmosphere and preferably at the same time usingthe waste gases to enhance recovery of hydrocarbons from the producingwell or the recovery field and to increase the recovery from theproduced gas being processed. As depicted, a removal or producing well12 in a field is drilled to recover gas 14 from an underground formation16. The gas 14 is processed at the wellhead 18 and then supplied bypipeline 32 to a gas processing system 10. It should be understood thatmultiple producing wells 12 may be connected to supply produced gas tothe gas processing system like the system 10.

As shown in FIG. 1, the gas processing system 10 has an inlet system 22,a heat exchanger 24, a processor 26, an injection system 28, and asecond gas separation system 30. Turning first to the inlet system 22,it receives produced gas 31 through pipeline 32. The produced gas 14 canbe expected to have considerable water entrained as it arrives at thewellhead 18. Depending on the well and field, a cyclone separator orsimilar dewatering arrangement (not shown) may be provided at thewellhead 18 to remove entrained water, leaving some water vapor in theproduced gas 31 being supplied from the wellhead 18. Removing theentrained water is preferred to reduce the erosive effects of the movingwater on the pipeline and also to reduce corrosion.

The produced gas 31 is supplied to the inlet system 22 which operates toreduce the water content of the produced gas 31. The water content ofthe produced gas 31 from the wellhead may vary from 1% to over 15%.Absent dehydration, gas with a high water content will be very erosiveand corrosive. As it encounters turns or other flow interferences inpipes, some of the water can be expected to plate out or condense intodroplets. At high velocity, the droplets can become quite erosive. Alsosome of the gases (e.g., hydrogen sulfide) may go into solution in thewater creating an acid that is quite corrosive.

The inlet system 22 reduces the water percentage of the produced gas 31to a small percentage of the total gas. Preferably, it reduces the watercontent of the produced gas from the wellhead 31 to less than 1% andmore preferably less than about 0.02% by weight or volume. The lesswater in the system thereafter in any form including vapor, the better.

A number of suitable systems are known for dehydrating including forexample, a DRIGAS system, a Drizo gas dehydration system and an Eco Tagsystem. See HYDROCARBON PROCESSING, May 2002 (Gulf Publishing Company),at pages 65 and 66. While glycol based systems are known, other systemsmay be used as desired. Molecular sieve systems are also now being usedfor dehydration.

After processing through the dehydration system 22, dehydrated producedgas 34 (see Table 1) is supplied by a suitable pipe 36 to the heatexchanger 24. The heat exchanger 24 functions to exchange or transferheat from one fluid or gas to another fluid or gas. As discussedhereinafter, the heat exchanger 24 that is preferred is configured totransfer heat to and from several different fluid streams to in effectconserve the heat energy or cold energy and thus minimize the need for aseparate source of cooling or a separate source of heat.

Typical heat exchangers come in a wide variety of sizes, shapes and flowconfigurations. To accomplish the exchange, the heat exchanger isconstructed of materials that have a good heat transfer coefficient. Theheat exchanger is configured to position one fluid relative to anotherin pipes or other suitable flow channels so that heat can transfer fromone fluid to the other through a pipe that is configured or selected tomaximize heat transfer. Given the flow rate and temperature range of theinlet fluid and the desired temperature and flow rate of the outletfluid, one can calculate the amount of heat to be transferred and inturn determine the size, configuration, and shape of the exchanger givenknown characteristics of the fluid that is to receive or to be thesource of the heat or cold. Heat exchangers can be configured toposition the two fluids to flow in different ways such as cross flow,counter flow, parallel flow, or circular flow, including combinationsand variations thereof to affect the efficiency and speed of the heattransfer.

The heat exchanger 24 here functions to cool the warm inlet produced gas34 from a temperature that is ranging from about 80° F. to about 140° F.to a cooled produced gas at a temperature of about −38° F. (38 degreesbelow zero, Fahrenheit). Inasmuch as the temperature of the produced gas31 from the wellhead 18 will vary based on many factors including theoutside air temperature, daylight/sunlight and flow rate, the heatexchanger 24 may include means to regulate the heat exchange rates ofone or more fluids to create a stable temperature profile for thevarious streams of fluids in the process. This can be accomplished bysensors monitoring temperatures and mechanisms connected to thetemperature monitor to, for example, mechanically vary the number oftubes of a tube bundle of a typical heat exchanger 24 or a flow controlvalve positioned proximate the inlet to the heat exchanger 24 toregulate the flow either on the inlet side or the discharge side of theheat exchanger 24 of one or more of the various streams passing throughthe heat exchanger 24, which streams are discussed hereinafter.

In the system 10 of FIG. 1, it is desired to lower the temperature ofthe dehydrated produced gas 34 rapidly and dramatically afterdehydration to a temperature in which selected gases like carbon dioxidecondense. Indeed, at −38° F. it is expected that a notable portion ofthe carbon dioxide (e.g., about 80%), along with the hydrogen sulfide(e.g., about 80%) and even some water, will condense to a liquid. As aliquid, removal is facilitated. Because the liquids are erosive andcorrosive, the pipe 38 from the heat exchanger 24 to the processor 26 isshort and may also be insulated to minimize heat gain to the cooleddehydrated produced gas 42. That is, the processor 26 is positioned asclose as practical to the heat exchanger 24 to minimize the length 40 ofthe pipe 38 which is delivering the cooled dehydrated produced gas 42with waste gases like liquid carbon dioxide entrained.

The processor 26 functions to separate the cooled dehydrated producedgas 42 into stream 44 which contains the desired hydrocarbon gas ornatural gas, sometimes called a hydrocarbon stream, and a second stream46, or waste stream, that contains unusable components and is sometimescalled the waste stream or the carbon dioxide stream. That is, undesiredor waste materials are separated into another, or second, stream 46 andprocessed for subsequent disposal.

The second stream 46 is supplied to an injection system 28 via pipe 48.The injection system 28 is so denominated because it is in substance andeffect taking liquid that was extracted from the production gas andputting it in condition for injection back into the ground rather thanin condition for venting. In FIG. 1, the injection system 28 includes apumping means that may be one or more pumps like pump 50. The pumpingmeans such as pump 50 operates to raise the pressure of the secondstream 46 to a suitable pressure for transmission to an injection well52 and even for injection into the well. The injection system 28includes a pipeline 54 that extends from the pumping means to thewellhead 56 of the injection well. That is, a well 52 is drilled intothe ground and down into a stratum 58 that will accept liquid. Thepressurized second stream 60 is supplied to the wellhead 56 which isconfigured with suitable protector valves and other wellhead structureto direct the pressurized second stream 60 down the well casing 62. Thewell casing 62 is configured in length to direct the pressurized secondstream 60 into the stratum 58. While FIG. 1 depicts the stratum 58 andthe injection well in two dimensions, it should be understood that infact the stratum surrounds the well casing 62 in all directions. Thus,the injection is effected in all directions around the well.

In the production of oil and gas, it is known to inject gases andliquids into an injection well either to dispose of the gas or liquid orto stimulate production by urging hydrocarbons toward a producing well.Injection wells may be drilled expressly for such a purpose. An existingwell that was a producing well may be converted to such a purpose.However, rapidly forming a liquid stream of waste gases into a liquidstream from production gas and injecting the waste liquids into aninjection well for disposal or for stimulating production is not known.

The injection well 52 may also be positioned at some distance from orspaced from the producing well 12 preferably in the same field. Whilepreferably in the same field, the liquid waste is pressurized and thusmay be supplied substantial distances to other fields for injection intoan injection well and disposal. The spacing or distance 64 is here shownselected to position the injection well 52 in the same field of thehydrocarbon yielding formation of the producing well 12. That is, theinjection well 52 is positioned and drilled to a depth 53 to access thehydrocarbon yielding formation or the strata 16 of the producing well12. Injection of the pressurized second stream 60 into the injectionwell 52 and into the stratum 58 that is comparable to or part of thehydrocarbon yielding formation 16 will introduce material that willmigrate. The migrating fluid 60 is expected to displace and thereby urgehydrocarbons to move away from the injection well 52 and in turn towardany one or more nearby producing wells like producing or removal well12. In other words, the second stream 60 is under pressure and will beurged into and through the stratum 58. The distance 64 between theproducing well 12 and the injection well 52 is determined by theformation or field and may range from about a few hundred yards toseveral miles (e.g., more than 5 miles) and even across a large field.

The injection well 52 may be simply an exhausted well (i.e., notproducing natural gas or other hydrocarbons) or a new well that isdrilled to be relatively accessible and of such a type that the secondstream under pressure 60 can be injected into one of several strata forretention in the well.

In the system 10 at hand, the produced gas 31 contains methane (CH₄) inaddition to traces of other hydrocarbons such as ethane (C₂H₆) andpropane (C₃H₈). It also contains quantities of carbon dioxide (CO₂),nitrogen (N₂) and Helium (He). Hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) is also found inthe example, but in small quantities. Even though the quantity is small,the hydrogen sulfide is very corrosive so that removal is desired. Insome fields, the ratios of the gases will vary and other gases may befound at the same time. For example, various sulfur compounds are knownto contaminate some streams of produced gas from other fields.

In all cases, the processor 26 is configured to separate the cooldehydrated produced gas 42 to remove as promptly as possible theundesired components of the cool, dehydrated produced gas 42. Thus,processes are employed to remove the hydrogen sulfide, as it is an acidwhen combined with any residual water or moisture. Removal early in theprocess avoids or reduces the corrosive effect of any of the acid onsystem structure. Residual water is also reduced immediately for similarreasons. While carbon dioxide can have commercial applications, it isnow widely available commercially so that recovery for commercial saleis not provided for in the system 10. Rather, carbon dioxide is viewedas an undesired non-hydrocarbon and even as a pollutant because ofreported association of that gas with global warming. Thus, theprocessor 26 is configured to strip out as much of the carbon dioxide aspossible and supply it to an injection well as a liquid for injection.Thus, the system 10 does not release the carbon dioxide to theatmosphere, thereby enhancing the economics of the processing operationsto the extent there is a cost connected with the venting to theatmosphere of the carbon dioxide. In other words, the system 10 isoperated to separate the carbon dioxide and the hydrogen sulfide intothe second stream 46 that is returned to the earth from which it came soit does not pollute the atmosphere. Of course, the waste or secondstream 46 is preferably injected in a position in a well 52 to increasethe recovery from the producing well 12 and even more preferably aplurality of producing wells in a field.

The first stream 44 contains the desired hydrocarbon gas plus helium andnitrogen. The first stream 44 is further processed by the separate gasseparation or recovery systems 30 to recover the helium at an output 66for commercial sale and to recover the hydrocarbon gas at an output 68for commercial sale. The nitrogen, while also useful commercially, iswidely available. Thus, it is vented 70 to the atmosphere. In someapplications a portion of the nitrogen is returned via line 72 to theprocessor 26 to enhance methane recovery as discussed hereinafter.

The processor 26 is preferably arranged to employ a fractionation tower80 configured and operated principally to separate out the carbondioxide and hydrogen sulfide at its discharge 82. The carbon dioxide andhydrogen sulfide is passed through a reboiler 84 in which the inletstream is raised in temperature sufficient to liberate gases to berecovered. In systems like system 10 in which the produced gas includesnatural gas liquids (NGL), a separate fractionation step may be addedafter the discharge 82 to remove the NGL from the stream 81. Steps wouldbe taken to control the temperature and keep it low enough, however, sothat the second stream 46 exits in a pipe 48 as a liquid. The reboiler84 may be a heat exchanger that recovers heat from another stream in thesystem 10 such as a propane stream; or it may be provided with aseparate source of heat such as an electric coil. Alternately, andpreferably, the heat is provided to the reboiler 84 by supplyingcondensing fluid from the methanol stripper condenser 166 via line 178as discussed hereinafter. The cooled condensing fluid is returned to thecondenser 166 using a pump (not shown) via line 179. The reboiler 84separates out additional recoverable gases 83 and supplies them througha recirculation line 88 from the reboiler 84 to the fractionation tower80. The recoverable gases 83 are in effect reintroduced for additionalprocessing or fractionation in the fractionation tower 80. Notably, thenitrogen line 72 is optionally connected to the recirculation line 88 toincrease the supply of nitrogen into the fractionation tower 80 at ornear the bottom of the fractionation tower 80. The fractionation tower80 is oriented generally vertically with a bottom 90 and a top 92. Inthe fractionation process, the nitrogen has physical properties so thatit rises from the bottom 90 and moves toward the top 92. The nitrogen isknown to displace methane in the liquid in the fractionation tower 80 sothat the additional nitrogen will enhance the recovery of the methane inthe supply 98 to the methanol absorber 120.

The quantity of carbon dioxide in the cooled dehydrated produced gas 42is quite significant and may be as much as about 65% to 70% by volume.In turn, not all of the carbon dioxide is removed in the fractionationtower 80 so that some remains in the output 98 which also includes therecoverable hydrocarbon gas (e.g., methane), nitrogen, and helium. Theoutput 98 of the fractionation tower 80 is supplied optionally, but herepreferably, to a methanol removal system 94 via supply line 96. Themethanol removal system 94 is operated to scrub out the carbon dioxidein the output 98 so that the first stream 44 is virtually or essentiallyfree of carbon dioxide.

In that methanol is valuable, the methanol removal system 94 supplies amethanol-carbon dioxide stream 125 to a methanol recovery system 100which operates to separate the methanol and carbon dioxide. The methanolrecovery system 100 has an output 102 to return the recovered methanol103 back to the methanol removal system 94 via a return line 104. Themethanol recovery system 100 also has a separate output 106 connected tosupply the recovered carbon dioxide 108 through line 110 to the heatexchanger 24 for heating before reintroduction to the fractionatingtower 80 via line 112.

Turning to FIG. 2, a portion of the system of FIG. 1 is illustrated ingreater detail. The dehydrated produced gas 34 (See Table 1) is suppliedto the heat exchanger 24 where it is cooled largely by propane stream114 supplied to the heat exchanger 24 via line 116 at a temperature ator about −43° F. (43 degrees below zero, Fahrenheit) and which leavesthe heat exchanger 24 through line 118 at a temperature of about 88° F.Other fluid streams are heated and cooled in the heat exchanger 24 asdiscussed hereinbefore and hereinafter.

The cooled dehydrated produced gas 42 is supplied to the processor 26and more particularly to the fractionation tower 80 of the processor 26.The fractionation tower 80 is configured to fraction or separate thecooled dehydrated produced gas 42 into a first stream and a secondstream. The first stream has here been earlier identified as output 98and may also be called a hydrocarbon stream. It is supplied via line 96to a methanol removal system 94 and more particularly to a methanolabsorber tower 120 as discussed hereinafter.

The fractionation tower 80 is a conventional fractionation tower thatmay be referred to as a 20 tray tower. It may be obtained from any ofseveral steel tank or tower fabricators and is configured to contain 20fraction trays. Such trays may be purchased from suppliers such as, forexample, Jaeger Products, Inc. of Dallas and Houston, Tex. Thefractionation tower 80 is typically constructed of high quality steeland is sized to process the expected volumes of material coming from oneor more producing wells like well 12 (FIG. 1). While the fractionationprocess is shown here being effected in a 20 tray tower, otherconfigurations or arrangements to effect the desired fractionation maybe used. The fractionating tower 80 is configured to separate carbondioxide and the hydrogen sulfide and supply them in liquid form as thesecond stream 81 at the discharge 82. Even though a substantial amountof carbon dioxide is removed in stream 81 (Table 1) at the discharge 82,the first stream or output 98 nonetheless contains carbon dioxide gas.The methanol removal system 94 and, more particularly, the methanolabsorber 120 is thus provided to remove the retained carbon dioxide inthe first stream 98 as discussed hereinafter.

The stream 81 at discharge 82 from the fractionation tower 80 issupplied to a reboiler 84 that operates to elevate the temperatureenough to boil some of the lighter gases and, in turn, to recapture somemethane, helium, nitrogen, and other gases and re-supply them as gases83 to the fractionation tower 80 for additional processing andconcentration in the first stream or output 98. The vapor output of thereboiler 84 is connected back to the tower 80; and the liquid stream 46that is over 90% carbon dioxide is ready for disposal. The liquid stream46 is supplied to the injection system 28 where it is pressurized by oneor more pumps 50 and supplied at an elevated pressure, which in thisapplication is a pressure of about 3500 pounds per square inch absolute(psia), to the injection well 52 via pipeline 54. In the following Table1 and Table 2, the pressure, temperature, and general make up of thevarious streams, as discussed above, are tabulated for the produced gas31 and 34 being supplied by the producing well 12 that is used toexemplify the inventions herein disclosed. It should be understood thatdifferent producing wells and producing wells in different fields willyield produced gas which will have some different gases and gases indifferent ratios. Such produced gas is to be processed consistent withthe principles evident from the disclosed example.

TABLE 1 Stream Composition, Temperature, and Pressure Stream Fluid TempPress CH₄ N₂ CO₂ He H₂S Propane Methanol No. ° F. PSIA % % % % % 5 % 3485 660 18.7 7.3 69.7 0.6 3.5 0.1 42 −38 659 18.7 7.3 69.7 0.6 3.5 0.1 44−35 650 69.1 28.5 ~0 2.34 0.02 0 46 46 655 1.33 0.006 93.7 ~0 4.7 0.1340.016 60 91 3500 1.33 0.006 93.7 ~0 4.7 0.134 0.016 81 42.5 655 2.140.014 93.08 ~0 4.49 0.126 0.013 83 46 655 5.14 0.04 90.82 ~0 3.72 0.0950.002 98 −35 654 47.9 17.9 31.4 ~1.42 1.27 0.04 103 −38 650 0 0 ~0 00.09 0 99.9 108 120 659 15.17 1.58 79.71 0.006 3.2 0.09 0.07 125 6.5 6502.98 0.31 15.67 ~0 0.7 0.018 80.28 127 −10.8 110 30.24 3.4 64.9 0.0131.07 0.06 0.1 134 −23 90 15.2 1.6 80 0.006 3.2 0.09 0.07 147 −10.8 1100.33 0.008 10.87 ~0 0.67 0.13 88.1 165 154.5 89 2.01 0.05 73.01 ~0 4.670.09 20.07 167 −30 89 0.029 ~0 20.36 ~0 3.84 0.034 75.7 171 −30 89 2.720.07 91.95 ~0 4.96 0.11 .046 175 244.3 89 0 0 0.029 0 1.93 ~0 98.03 177244.3 89 0 0 ~0 0 0.09 0 99.9

The methanol removal system 94 includes the methanol absorber 120 whichreceives gas 98 from supply line 96 and passes the gas 98 through acascading flow of methanol supplied from a methanol recycle line 104.The methanol absorber 120 strips out the carbon dioxide and in turn hasa hydrocarbon output 122 that supplies a hydrocarbon stream which hasalso been termed a first stream 44 through pipe 124 to a second gasseparation system 30 as discussed hereinafter. The methanol strips outthe carbon dioxide in the methanol removal system 94; and the methanolwith carbon dioxide 125 is supplied through a discharge line 126 to amethanol recovery system 100 which includes a methanol flash chamber128. In the flash chamber 128, the pressure is reduced to about 110 psiaso that the carbon dioxide flashes off. It is supplied as a gas 127 viaa return line 129 through mixer 130 and through the heat exchanger 24via another return line 132. In the heat exchanger 24, the carbondioxide composition 108 is heated from about −23° F. to about 100° F.Thereafter, the carbon dioxide composition 108 is supplied via line 144to a plurality of compressors such as compressors 136 and 138 toincrease the pressure for reintroduction into the fractionation tower80. In turn the temperature is increased. Coolers like air coolers 140and 142 are used to keep the temperature under control and in a desiredrange. The carbon dioxide 108 is thereafter supplied to thefractionation tower 80 via line 146 for further separation to recovermore hydrocarbons in stream 98 and to increase the carbon dioxideremoved through discharge 82.

The methanol flash chamber 128 supplies the methanol 147 through flashchamber outlet 148 and via line 149 as a liquid to a counter-currentheat exchanger 150 which operates to cool the methanol in line 152. Themethanol is moved by pump 154 through line 156 to the heat exchanger 24where it is heated from about 2° F. to about 38° F. and then supplied toa methanol make-up tank 158. The methanol is then supplied via line 104to the methanol absorber 120. A separate or external supply of methanolis provided to the methanol make-up tank 158 via line 159 to replacewhatever methanol that is lost through system operations.

The counter-current heat exchanger 150 also supplies a methanol mixturemostly in gas form, but with some liquids, to a methanol strippingsystem 159 that includes a methanol stripper tower 160 via line 162. Themethanol stripper tower 160 is a fractionation tower that separates anyretained carbon dioxide from the methanol. The separated carbon dioxide165 is then supplied via line 163 to a cooler 164 and condenser 166.Liquids 167 are returned to the stripper 160 for reprocessing via line168. The carbon dioxide gas 171 is supplied via line 170 to the mixer130 for reintroduction to the fractionation tower 80 as discussedhereinbefore. Recovered methanol is hot (about 240° F.) and is recycledor processed through a discharge line 172 to a reboiler 174. Thereboiler 174 further heats the recovered methanol to extract gases 175for reprocessing in the methanol stripper tower 160. The reboiler 174separates the methanol as a liquid 177 for transmission via line 176 tothe counter-current heat exchanger 150 for recycling back to themethanol absorber tower 120. The reboiler 174 receives heat 173 from anysuitable other line of fluid or gas or from a separate source. Liquidcondensate from the condenser 166 may be circulated via line 178 to thereboiler 84 associated with the fractionation tower 80 to supply heat.

In FIG. 2, it can also be seen that a supply of nitrogen is optionallysupplied via line 72 from the nitrogen separator as hereinafterdiscussed to line 88 for reintroduction to the fractionation tower 80.The nitrogen supplied has characteristics such that it will replacemethane in the liquid phase in the fractionation tower 80 to enhance themethane recovery in the supply line 96.

In FIG. 2, it can be seen that the heat exchanger 24 transfers heatbetween different streams to conserve energy and reduce cost. The heatexchanger 24 is arranged with several flow channels to effect thedesired heating and cooling. Notably, the propane 114 supplied via line116 is a primary coolant. A separate cooling system is used to coolpropane 114 and supply it as a coolant. At the same time another propanestream 117 is provided for similar purposes. In FIG. 2, it is receivedas a source of heat so that its temperature lowers from about 100 to105° F. to at or below 60° F. after it leaves the heat exchanger 24 viadischarge line 118.

In FIG. 3, the hydrocarbon stream 44 is supplied via line or pipe 124 toa heat exchanger 202. The stream 44 is cooled from about 100° F. toabout −30° F. (30 degrees below zero, Fahrenheit) and supplied via aline 204 to a separator 206. The separator 206 removes the nitrogen andhelium gas and supplies it as stream 207 (Table 2) back to the heatexchanger 202 via line 208. The liquid hydrocarbon stream 210 issupplied via line 211 to a mixer 212 where it is vaporized and combinedwith additional recovered hydrocarbons, if any, as hereinafterdiscussed. The combined stream 213 is supplied via line 215 to a one ormore compressors like compressors 214, 216, 218 which together increasethe pressure to about 285 psia. The related coolers 220, 222, 224 coolthe gas after compressive heating. Thereafter, the hydrocarbon stream225 is supplied to a mixer 226 for mixing with additional recoveredhydrocarbons to form sales stream 228, which is pressurized and cooledby a compressor 230 and cooler 232 for delivery as the natural gasoutput 234 of the system 10.

TABLE 2 Stream Composition, Temperature, and Pressure Stream Meth- FluidTemp Press CH₄ N₂ CO₂ He H₂S anol No. ° F. PSI % % % % % % 207 −30 64669.1 28.47 ~0 2.34 0.024 0.009 215 90 17.86 96.88 3 ~0 0 0.034 0.013 225120 285 96.88 3 ~0 0 0.034 0.013 228 120 415 96.88 3 ~0 0 0.03 0.013 241−167.5 295.1 88.55 11.44 ~0 0 0.003 243 −171.9 295.1 94.86 5.05 ~0 00.026 0.01 251 −167.5 295.1 96.88 3 ~0 0 0.034 0.013 253 −167.5 295.196.88 3 ~0 0 0.034 0.013 257 −240 293.1 96.88 3 ~0 0 0.034 0.013 273−254.3 18.86 96.88 3 ~0 0 0.034 0.013 275 90 17.86 96.88 3 ~0 0 0.0340.013 277 −244.7 294.9 5.45 90.99 3.56 0 0 279 −252.3 294.9 2 90 0 8 0 0281 −300 292.9 2 90 0 8 0 0 285 −300 292.9 0.032 18.1 0 81.86 0 0 293−254.5 292.9 0.57 92.15 0 7.28 0 0 297 −254.5 292.9 2.21 97.5 0 0.26 0 0299 −299.5 19.5 2.21 97.5 0 0.26 0 0 301 70 15.5 2.21 97.5 0 0.26 0 0

The nitrogen and helium mixture 207 is cooled to around −200° F. andsupplied from the heat exchanger 202 via line 236 and regulating valve238 to the nitrogen rejection unit 240. The nitrogen rejection unit 240is a fractionating tower with about 18 trays or some other suitabledevice to remove nitrogen from the hydrocarbons, including,specifically, methane. The nitrogen rejection unit 240 has a discharge242 that supplies a liquid stream 243 through a reboiler 244 fortransmission through line 246 to a splitter 248. The reboiler 244receives heat from a suitable fluid supplied from the heat exchanger 202via line 245, which is returned to the heat exchanger 202 via line 247.The reboiler 244 heats the stream 243 from about −171° F. to about−167.5° F. to separate out a small stream 241 that is returned to thenitrogen rejection unit 240 for reprocessing to increase the rejectionof nitrogen. The splitter 248 thereafter supplies most of hydrocarbonstream 251 to the heat exchanger 202 via line 252 and the remainder instream 253 via line 250. The stream in line 252 is heated to about 90°F. in the heat exchanger 202 and thereafter connects to line 254. Line254 supplies the heated stream as a gas to the mixer 226 where it iscombined with the stream 225 to form the stream 228 which is the streamof hydrocarbons for sale. Line 250 is connected to line 256 whichconnects to a regulator valve 258 and a condenser 260. The stream 257 inline 256 was cooled in the heat exchanger 202 to about −240° F. (240degrees below zero, Fahrenheit) where it is further cooled through aJoule Thompson expansion valve 258 following which it is transmitted tocondenser 260. The condensing fluid is supplied by a tank 266 via lines269 and 271. The fluid 273 is heated and then is supplied at a reducedpressure to the heat exchanger 202 via line 262, where it is heated to atemperature of about 90° F., and then supplied as gas 275 to the mixer212 for combination with the stream 210 to form stream 213.

The nitrogen and helium stream 277 separated in the nitrogen rejectionunit 240 is supplied via line 267 to a condenser 266 where some liquidsare condensed out and returned to the separator 240 via line 265. Thegas 279 is then supplied to the helium recovery unit 278 (FIG. 4) vialine 268. The hydrocarbons are separately cycled through the heatexchanger via lines 270 and 272 to control the liquid/gas mix of thehydrocarbons. The reboiler 244 is separately heated by a stream from theheat exchanger 202. The reboiler 244 extracts nitrogen from thedischarge 242 and supplies it to the nitrogen rejection tower 240 forcontinued processing.

The helium and nitrogen stream 279 is supplied via line 268 to a heatexchanger 280 in FIG. 4 to further cool the stream to −300° F. (300degrees below zero, Fahrenheit), a temperature where the nitrogen ismostly liquid and the helium is in vapor form. The stream 281 is thensupplied via line 282 to a separation tower 284 in which the helium 285is removed and supplied via line 286 to a helium sales system. Thenitrogen stream 287 is extracted via the discharge 288 and supplied to areboiler 290 which receives a heating fluid from the heat exchanger 280via lines 289 and 291. A suitable pump may be provided if naturalcirculation is insufficient. The reboiler 290 heats the discharge stream287 to recover, among other things, additional helium 293 and return itto the recovery unit 284 via line 295 for further separation. Thenitrogen 297 is supplied from the reboiler 290 in liquid form to line292. The nitrogen output 297 is supplied via the line 292 through aregulator valve 294 to reduce the line pressure to about 20 psia andthereby reduce the temperature even further to about −315° F. (315degrees below zero, Fahrenheit). Thereafter the stream 297 is suppliedto the heat exchanger 280 where it is heated back to about −300° F. (300degrees below zero, Fahrenheit) and then supplied as a gas 299 in line296 where it connects to line 72 for further deliver to thefractionation tower 80 in FIG. 2 and for further processing through heatexchanger 202 where it is raised in temperature to about 70° F. Unusednitrogen 301 is then vented via line 298.

Returning to FIG. 2, it should be understood that the produced gas 34being supplied to the heat exchanger 24 for the system illustrated isessentially free of natural gas liquids (NGL). Produced gas from somefields may have entrained NGL which can be removed and sold to increasethe hydrocarbon recovery from the produced gas 34. For example, in FIG.2, the produced gas 34 may be processed through a system 310 (shown indotted line) to recover the NGL before the produced gas is furtherprocessed as hereinbefore discussed. Specifically the produced gas 34coming into the heat exchanger 24 via line 36 is cooled by the heatexchanger 24 but only to about 10° F. to about −10° F. for delivery vialine 312 to a separator 314. The separator 314 separates the NGL andsupplies them via line 316 to a suitable separation system 318. The NGLare then available for sale and/or for further processing into suitablehydrocarbon products. The dehydrated produced gas with the NGL removed320 is then returned to the heat exchanger 24 through line 322 where iscooled to the desired −38° F. (38 degrees below zero, Fahrenheit) andthen supplied to line 38 via line 324 as the dehydrated cooled producedgas 42 for processing by the processor 26 as hereinbefore discussed.

It should be understood that the system 10 and more particularly thesystems of FIGS. 2-4 are simplified with many line filters, valves,temperature detectors, flow detectors, pressure detectors, and the likenot shown. Such components are obviously needed as those skilled in theart would recognize. In addition, drains and drain valves, pressurerelief valves, recirculation lines, pumps, and other components andoperating features that are known to those skilled in the art are alsonot shown to simplify the drawings. Further, it should be understoodthat the streams of materials (e.g., gases and liquids) in theillustrated samples move by any suitable or appropriate pipe means whichare stated or identified as pipes or lines. While any suitable pipestructure may be used, it is expected that the pipes will be differentgrades, sizes and types of pipes selected in relation to the material toflow therein. For example, the pipe means or conduit to move the wastematerial at 3500 psia to the injection well will be selected towithstand the pressure and also be of a material that resists corrosiondue to the hydrogen sulfide in the stream.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms withoutdeparting from its spirit or essential characteristics. The describedembodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrativeand not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicatedby the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. Allchanges which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of theclaims are to be embraced within their scope.

What is claimed is:
 1. A process comprising: obtaining produced gas froma source of produced gas, said produced gas including hydrocarbon gas,natural gas liquids and waste gas including at least carbon dioxide;dehydrating the produced gas to form an inlet stream; removing thenatural gas liquids from said inlet stream; cooling said inlet stream;providing a fractionation tower; supplying said inlet stream to saidfractionation tower; fractionating said inlet stream in saidfractionation tower to form a first gas stream including saidhydrocarbon gas and a portion of said waste gas, and to form a wasteliquid stream including the other portion of said waste gas as liquid;separating said first gas stream into a stream of hydrocarbon gas and areturn stream of separate waste gas; supplying said return stream forfractionation with said inlet stream in said fractionation tower;supplying said stream of hydrocarbon gas as an output; and supplyingsaid waste liquid stream as a waste output.
 2. The process of claim 1wherein cooling of said dehydrated produced gas is effected next insequence following said dehydrating the produced gas and removal of saidnatural gas liquids.
 3. The process of claim 2 wherein saidfractionation is effected next in sequence after cooling.
 4. The processof claim 3 wherein said waste gas includes hydrogen sulfide.
 5. Theprocess of claim 4 further including injecting said waste output into awell separate from one or more wells supplying said produced gas.
 6. Aprocess comprising: obtaining produced gas from a source of producedgas, said produced gas including NGL, at least one hydrocarbon gas andat least carbon dioxide; supplying an inlet system for dehydrating theproduced gas; supplying a NGL system to remove NGL's from said producedgas; supplying a heat exchanger to cool produced gas after dehydration;supplying a gas processing system for separating gases of the producedgas after cooling; supplying said produced gas to said inlet system andoperating said inlet system to dehydrate the produced gas and to forminlet gas; supplying said inlet gas to an NGL system and operating saidNGL system to remove NGL from said inlet gas; supplying said inlet gasfrom said NGL system to said heat exchanger to cool said inlet gas;providing a fractionation tower; supplying said inlet gas to saidfractionation tower and operating said fractionation tower to form afirst gas stream including said hydrocarbon gas and a portion of saidcarbon dioxide as a gas and a second stream with the other portion ofsaid carbon dioxide as a liquid; processing said first stream toseparate said carbon dioxide gas into a return stream and to separatesaid hydrocarbon gas into a hydrocarbon stream; returning said returnstream for incorporation with said dehydrated and cooled produced gas;supplying said hydrocarbon stream as an hydrocarbon output; andsupplying said second stream as a waste output.
 7. The process of claim6 wherein said return stream is supplied only to said heat exchanger andthen to said fractionation tower.
 8. The process of claim 6 wherein saidproduced gas includes hydrogen sulfide and wherein said processingsystem is operated so that hydrogen sulfide is included in said wasteoutput.
 9. The process of claim 6 wherein said produced gas includesrecovered helium which is the only source of helium in said process. 10.A process comprising: obtaining produced gas from a source of producedgas, said produced gas including hydrocarbon gas, natural gas liquids,helium and waste gas including at least carbon dioxide; dehydrating theproduced gas to form an inlet stream; removing the natural gas liquidsfrom said inlet stream; cooling said inlet stream; providing afractionation tower; supplying said inlet stream to said fractionationtower; fractionating said inlet stream in said fractionation tower-toform a first gas stream including said hydrocarbon gas, said helium anda portion of said waste gas, and a waste liquid stream including theother portion of said waste gas as a liquid; separating said first gasstream into a stream of hydrocarbon gas with said helium and a returnstream of separated waste gas; supplying said return stream forfractionation with said inlet stream in said fractionation tower;separating said helium from said hydrocarbon gas to form a stream ofhydrocarbon gas and helium; supplying said stream of hydrocarbon gas asan output and supplying said helium as an output; and supplying saidwaste liquid stream as a waste output.
 11. A process comprising:obtaining produced gas from a source of produced gas, said produced gasincluding hydrocarbon gas, natural gas liquids, helium and waste gasincluding at least carbon dioxide; dehydrating the produced gas to forman inlet stream; removing the natural gas liquids from said inletstream; providing a heat exchanger; supplying said inlet stream to saidheat exchanger and cooling said inlet stream; providing a fractionationtower; supplying said inlet stream to said fractionation tower;fractionating said inlet stream in said fractionation tower-to form afirst gas stream including said hydrocarbon gas, said helium and aportion of said waste gas, and a waste liquid stream including the otherportion of said waste gas as a liquid; separating said first gas streaminto a stream of hydrocarbon gas with said helium and a return stream ofseparated waste gas; supplying said return stream to said heatexchanger; supplying said return stream from said heat exchanger forcombination with said inlet stream and for fractionation in saidfractionation tower; separating said helium from said hydrocarbon gas toform a stream of hydrocarbon gas and helium; supplying said stream ofhydrocarbon gas as an output and supplying said helium as an output; andsupplying said waste liquid stream as a waste output.
 12. The process ofclaim 11 wherein said helium is the only source of helium in saidprocess.